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Is there a way to search everything in BibleWorks?

Hi, everyone! I'm new to the forum, but several Hebrew exegesis courses in seminary (and now Greek) have made me an avid user and fan of BibleWorks. I still have BW7, but dream of upgrading some day when I graduate seminary and start "making the big bucks" as a pastor.

A question: is there a way to search everything in BibleWorks at once? In other words, is there a way to search (for example), five given Bible versions, all the lexicons, grammars, and other reference works I have installed on a word/concept like "prophet"?

I understand that the "Resource Summary" tab in the analysis window gets close to this, but it doesn't look like that includes Nave's Topical Bible, the BibleWorks timeline, etc. (Not only that, but the Resource Summary appears to be keyed to whole verses in the cases of the grammars and the Henry commentary, as opposed to individual words.)

There are a variety of types of texts in BibleWorks, and each requires a different type of searching. As far as searching all Bible texts, that is easy to do by using the Command Line Cross-Version searching features. By using the GSE you can search many different language versions at the same.

To search all the HTML Help modules (this is the format for the grammars and some other items), you can use the Master Module Index, located on the Resources menu. Conducting a search in the Master Module Index will search all HTML Help modules at one time.

The Resource Summary Window is another way to access a lot of information at one time. By using the Resource Summary Window you can find all references to a particular verse, or you can find all the occurrences of a specific lemma in your lexicons, or discussion of a particular parsing element in your grammars.

There are also search features in the Dictionary and Lexicon Browser that enable you to search your dictionaries and your lexicons.

To search all the HTML Help modules (this is the format for the grammars and some other items), you can use the Master Module Index, located on the Resources menu. Conducting a search in the Master Module Index will search all HTML Help modules at one time.

Thanks for this one Glenn. I actually did not know that this was the way to do that!

You can also add user-created modules to the search capabilities of the Master Module Index, so that a search in the Master Module Index will also search user-created modules. For instructions on how to add the user-created modules to the Master Module Index, see the BibleWorks 8 Help file, Chapter 52 Custom Modules.

You can also add user-created modules to the search capabilities of the Master Module Index, so that a search in the Master Module Index will also search user-created modules. For instructions on how to add the user-created modules to the Master Module Index, see the BibleWorks 8 Help file, Chapter 52 Custom Modules.

Might it be a possibility for future versions/updates of BibleWorks that there be one integrated "power search" feature that integrates all the searches you mentioned into one step (searching Biblical texts, modules, lexicons, etc. all at once for the same word)? Speaking only for myself, I would find that useful, if so.

I must agree to the last wish - actually, I have a double wish:
- a 'all-in-one' search window, where you intuitively can 'check-box' your way through.
- a 'simple-intuitive' search window.

I teach NT and have my students to buy BW - and as much as I like the fastness of BW in the current GUI, then my students find difficult to master. Hard to learn, hard to remember. They fancy a quick and fast approach and can live without many of the complex search capabilities.

It is a major weakness of BW - and the GSE is no help in this regard.

To be frank: BW has never quite recovered from a DOS-like user-interface - and I so much wish that BW would address this issue by working out a intuitive graphic user interface that can be opened on top of the current - for the sake of future sales.

...as much as I like the fastness of BW in the current GUI, then my students find difficult to master. Hard to learn, hard to remember. They fancy a quick and fast approach and can live without many of the complex search capabilities...

When, the cursor hovers over any of the code insertion buttons, the meaning or the reason for the use of codes before searches on the command line is revealed in a pop-up box. This made using the command line a lot simpler for me.

Yes, it is a help to have the code insertion buttons displayed - but still you have to remember what they stand for. It is "dos-like".

I am thinking of a simple intuitive "search dialogue screen" where you can "check-box" your way through a search. It is the way everything works on the internet today - so students would grasp this immediately - instead of first have to understand the differences between different databases, search parameters, codes and so on.

This could be done really simple, I am sure:
1. Check-box a database to search.
2. Check-box a limit of books.
3. Write the words to search, check-box and/or, within a given number of words and so on.
4. Check-box wild cards (if needed) + most/all of the possibilities of searching for verbs, infinitives and so on.

... it is a help to have the code insertion buttons displayed - but still you have to remember what they stand for. It is "dos-like".

However, when you place a cursor over the those buttons, a pop-up window reveals their meanings. This eliminates the need to remember the codes.

Originally Posted by MortenJensen

I am thinking of a simple intuitive "search dialogue screen" where you can "check-box" your way through a search. It is the way everything works on the internet today

(1) 'Intuitive'? That means different things to different people, but yeah I hear you.AND I, too think it would be good to have a simple search interface option for beginners like they used in in version 5 and 6.

(2)The Internet? That doesn't strike me as being very efficient or accurate in terms of searching power. However, I understand the internet searches are what the majority of people are used to.

(3)BibleWorks has a cool Morphology Assistant with check boxes making it 'similar', but not exactly like what you are thinking of. If they added more check off boxes and options to that it might come close to what you are thinking off.

(4)In addition to check off boxes, I think it would be be good to have the option of typing in real language(for people who don't line check off boxes). So, I if you want to search for verbs, you'd simply type in verb pulse whatever word you're looking for.

Originally Posted by MortenJensen

BW has a steep learning curve for beginners.

Agreed
In that regard BW is no different from most high end software applications that I have had the privilege of using. But, again I hear you and I think you should submit an official request.